DNA from dismembered body matches missing journalist

(CNN) -- DNA from a headless torso found washed up on an island near Copenhagen matches that of missing Swedish journalist Kim Wall, Danish police said Wednesday.

At a press conference, chief investigator Jens Møller Jensen said police had linked the victim to the torso with DNA obtained from her toothbrush and hairbrush.

He said the body had apparently been punctured to let the air out before sinking it, and it was weighted down in a presumed attempt to prevent it floating.

Wall, 30, had boarded a 17-meter, privately built submarine on August 10 for a story she was writing about its inventor, Peter Madsen.

She was last seen in an image that allegedly showed her standing in the tower of the submarine in Copenhagen Harbor.

Police had earlier said the body appeared to have been deliberately dismembered. Blood found on the submarine was also a match for Wall, Møller Jensen said.

A passing cyclist found the torso Monday afternoon on the southwest side of Amager island near the Danish capital.

In a statement posted to Facebook, Wall's mother, Ingrid Wall, spoke of the family's "immense grief and shock" on learning that the journalist's remains had been found, and said many questions remained unanswered.

She recalled the impact of her daughter's disappearance on her family, friends, and colleagues around the world, as well as the powerful stories she had told from remote corners of the planet.

"Following Kim's disappearance, we have received countless messages about how loved and appreciated she was -- as a human being, as a friend, and as a journalist. It's a true testament to the impact she's had on others," she said.

"She gave a voice to weak, vulnerable and marginalized people. It's a voice this world needed for years to come, but that has now been silenced."

An ongoing mystery

Madsen, who has been charged with manslaughter, told a closed-door court hearing Monday that Wall had died in an accident and was buried at sea in an "unspecified place" in Køge Bay, according to a statement.

We are deeply saddened to learn that Kim Wall is reported to have died. She was beloved by our community. Our thoughts are with her family. pic.twitter.com/YZrGum8jHD

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